Seeing Red

Yesterday was a busy day in the kitchen

I had to get those two boxes of tomatoes dealt with out of the way

but before starting with them 

 The soot box on the rayburn was due a clean out, I try to do it at least once a month and with the flue brush a keep sweep of the flue

This is what coats the inside of the flue, tarry deposits from the wood we burn, if its left to build up it will choke the flue, its easy to clean out and just another regular maintenance job.

 Then it was on to those tomatoes, I was asked if they are organic

 unfortunately not.

If I hadn't have lost my plum toms to blight then I wouldn't have bothered with them, but at a £1 a box it was worth it.

I got started with the canning

 15 pints of stewed tomatoes and veg, the veg is onions peppers and celery, adding the veg alters the acidity of the tomatoes so they can be canned. A good seal on all the jars, these will be ideal for adding to all sorts of meals, with the ones I have already canned from our own tomato's I now have 32 pint jars in the store cupboard.

The tomatoes that were left over got sliced up and 7 trays went in the dehydrator.

Out of the dehydrator for the day before 

 Sultanas from the green grapes

 and more Raisins from the black grapes.

Today I am going to get the peppers chopped up and into the dehydrator.

I have a very busy time at the moment, between harvesting veg, preserving it, sorting the growing area ready for winter and next years growing, the lambs are ready for the freezer, I am sewing every spare moment for craft fairs and orders that are coming in thick and fast just to add to it all, I have had a gift shop contact me and ask to stock some of my cushions, a very nice order I did think about it with so many balls to juggle at the moment, I have accepted the order, well why not, then last night another enquiry from another shop a smaller order, still thinking that one out.

Martin will be home tonight tomorrow will be a day spent on the sewing machine playing catch, got a big craft fair Saturday its the village Autumn Fair. :-)